Place in a saucepan one tablespoonful of very good butter, with two tablespoonfuls of flour, mix well together while cooking on the range for five minutes, without browning, then add a gill of hot white broth, ([No. 99]) sharply stirring while adding it, let slowly cook on the corner of the range for twelve minutes; season with half a teaspoonful of salt and just the third of a saltspoonful of cayenne pepper. Crack the yolk of one egg in a bowl, squeeze in the juice of half a sound lemon, then gradually add a ladleful of sauce to the egg, continually stirring meanwhile; now pour it into the saucepan, briskly stirring while adding it, but under no circumstances allow it to boil again. Have eighteen small sound fresh mussels, wash them well in two different waters, drain, place then in a small saucepan, tightly cover with the lid, place on a moderate range. Cook for five minutes, or until they are completely opened; remove them from the fire, lay the pan on a table, then with a skimmer, take the mussels out, pick out the mussels, lay them on a dish, suppressing the shells. Strain the liquor of the mussels into the sauce on the range, mix thoroughly together.
Place the fillets in the oven to bake for five minutes. Remove them from the oven, dress on a hot serving dish, giving them a crown shape, one overlapping another; pour the gravy of the fillets also into the saucepan on the corner of the range, thoroughly mix together again, then add a tablespoonful of very good fresh butter, pour in half a cup of sweet cream, mix well again. Place in another saucepan twelve fine fresh picked shrimps and the prepared mussels; strain then the sauce through a fine sieve over mussels and shrimps, gently shuffle the pan, so as to mix all well together, and then pour it over the fillets of sole: decorate the dish with six heart-shaped croûtons ([No. 133]), and immediately send to the table.
1431. Fillets of Shad à la C. Bliss.
—Procure a fine roe shad, thoroughly scale, then split it right down the back, carefully remove the roes, and also the bones, then cut it in half, lay one half aside with its roe for some other purpose. Cut out from the other half six equal fillets diagonally, one inch thick, suppress the skin of each fillet, nicely pare off the corners, and then place them on a large soup plate. Season with a teaspoonful of salt, half a teaspoonful of pepper, the third of a saltspoonful of grated nutmeg, squeeze in the juice of a medium-sized sound lemon, add one sprig of thyme, one branch of parsley, a bay-leaf, and three cloves. Gently mix the whole well together, without breaking the fillets, and then let marinate till further action.
Place the roe belonging to the half shad in a saucepan on the hot range, with a tablespoonful of very good butter, and half a wineglassful of white wine; let slowly cook for five minutes. Carefully remove the roe with a skimmer, place it on a dish, and then, with a knife, remove the skin from all around, place it back into the saucepan, and add another half a glass of white wine, gently mix with a fork, so as to thoroughly separate the eggs, and then let slowly simmer on the corner of the range. Place in another saucepan a tablespoonful of butter and one and a half tablespoonfuls of flour, mix well together on the hot range for five minutes, without browning; add to it now a cup of hot milk, briskly stir until it comes to a boil. Season with a teaspoonful of salt, and half a saltspoonful of cayenne pepper; cook for five minutes longer, then strain it through a sieve into the other saucepan, and mix the whole well together for two minutes, and leave it again on the corner of the range. Take the fillets from the marinade, gently lay them on a napkin, remove all the herbs that may adhere around them, fold the napkin over and gently dry them. Steep each fillet in beaten up egg, and then, gently turning them in fresh bread-crumbs, immediately plunge them into very hot fat to fry for four minutes, so that they all shall obtain a good golden color. Place six oval-shaped croûtons on a hot dish. Take up the fillets, place one on each croûton around the dish; pour the prepared sauce around, but not over them, and immediately send to the table.
1432. Fillets of Shad à la Chas. C. Delmonico.
—Prepare six fillets of shad as for [No. 1431], place them on a dish, season with a teaspoonful of salt and half a teaspoonful of pepper, and lay aside until further action. Place the roe of half the shad in a saucepan on the fire with a tablespoonful of butter and a glass of white wine, and let simmer for five minutes, then with a skimmer remove the roe, place it on a dish, remove the skin from all around, and place it back in the pan. Season with a teaspoonful of salt and half a teaspoonful of pepper, and with a fork separate the eggs; add now eight finely chopped mushrooms, a teaspoonful of chopped parsley, and half a teaspoonful of finely chopped chives. Cook for five minutes longer, then pour it into a dish to cool. Heat in a frying-pan on the fire two tablespoonfuls of clarified butter; rapidly place the six fillets in the pan, and fry for a half a minute on each side, but no more. Remove them from the pan with a palette-knife or a cake turner, place on a dish and leave there until further action. Have six double sheets of unruled white paper, cut each in a half-breast shape, eight inches long by four and a half in width, open each half heart paper, which will then represent a full heart-shape form, grease each one well with clarified butter; lay them on a table, one beside another. Prepare twelve very thin slices of cooked ham, one inch square; place one slice over each half-heart paper, right in the centre, place on top of each slice of ham two tablespoonfuls of the preparation waiting for action, then lay a fillet over each garnishing, then again two tablespoonfuls of garnishing over each fillet, and another slice of ham over all. Gently fold the paper over each fillet, then fold each paper in small folds, one inch in width, beginning at the widest part of each paper, coming right down to the end, and then give a sharp twist, so as to firmly close them. When all finished, place them in a tin baking-pan, not in a black one; place in a moderate oven to bake for eight minutes. Remove from out the oven, dress them on a hot dish, one overlapping another, and with the points up, and immediately send to the table.
1433. Fillets of Shad à la Whitelaw Reid.
—Place the six fillets of shad, prepared the same as in [No. 1431], on a dish, season with a teaspoonful of salt and half a teaspoonful of pepper. Slice up in julienne shape half a medium-sized, sound peeled onion, and half a well-scraped carrot; place these in a saucepan, with half a teaspoonful of butter, a branch of parsley, a sprig of thyme, half a bay-leaf, four whole peppers, and two cloves; place the pan on the range, and let gently simmer for three minutes; then gently lay one shad roe in the centre of the pan, without breaking it; pour in a half glass of white wine, tightly cover the pan, and let slowly simmer for ten minutes. Remove the roe, place it on a hot dish to keep warm. Add to the carrot two gills of either mushroom liquor, or white broth ([No. 99]), and let simmer again for five minutes. If using mushroom liquor, season with one teaspoonful of salt; if broth, no salt will be required. Place in a saucepan one tablespoonful of butter with two tablespoonfuls of flour; mix well together for five minutes on the hot range, without browning; gradually add to the latter the stock of the other pan; sharply mix the whole together until it comes to a boil. Place the fillets in a buttered sautoire, with twelve freshly opened, medium-sized oysters—their liquor; tightly cover the pan, and slowly cook on the range for five minutes. Then remove the fillets with a palette knife; arrange three at each side of the roe, one overlapping another. Add twelve mushrooms to the oysters; heat up for one minute; then place at each end of the roe a cluster of both oysters and mushrooms, (six of each). Have the yolk of an egg in a bowl, squeeze into it the juice of half a medium-sized, sound lemon; add then also half a gill of sweet cream; beat well together, then gradually pour into the same bowl three tablespoonfuls of the sauce from the pan, continually stirring meanwhile; then add this to the sauce in the pan, mix the whole well together for one minute. Strain it through a fine sieve, right over the fish, covering all, and then send to the table.